April Wood

For years I suffered
from severe stomach cramping and heavy menstrual bleeding. Over-the-counter
remedies, prescription medications and even a tubal ligation brought little to
no relief.

The pain was
excruciating and often interfered with my daily activities and even caused me
to miss work on occasion.

Dr. Barbara McCollum diagnosed me with
adenomyosis, and although there are treatments, hysterectomy is the only cure. I was actually excited when
Dr. McCollum suggested a hysterectomy. I was glad to know that I would soon
have relief from the pain.

It wasn’t until my
pre-operative appointment that Dr. McCollum informed me that she would be
performing her surgery with assistance from the daVinci robot. I was terrified.
I didn’t know what to expect. It was so new.

The surgery went very
well and only took about an hour.

As a working mother
I was concerned with the time it would take for me to return to my normal daily
activities. My friends warned me that it would be weeks before I would be back
to my regular routine. I was pleasantly surprised that I felt like I could run
a marathon at the two week mark, even though I wasn’t allowed to return to
normal activities until the four week mark.

Hysterectomy
with the daVinci is awesome. The recovery time is much better compared to “open
surgery” or laparoscopic hysterectomies. I only have three tiny scars. And even
better, I am no longer in pain.